Kite



Jan. 22, 1963 E. M. HANRAHAN; JR

KITE

Filed Aug. 8, 1960 R mR J 5' MN A H A R N A H M D R A W D E Lil! ATTORNEY United States Patent-O KI E Edward M. Hanrahan, Jr., 913 Morton St.,

Baltimore, Md. Filed Aug. 8, 1960, Ser. No. 48,11

1 Claim. (Cl. 244153) The present invention relates to an improved kite and one that resembles a bird in flight and one that may be knocked down for convenient handling. It has been found by experiment that a kite of this type may be improved by the use of a porous cloth, or other suitable porous material which will allow for the passage therethrough of a certain amount of air, which helps to prevent the kite from diving and to stay upright in a strong wind. It has also been found that a kite of this type to operate satisfactorily, the material from which the cover is made must be kept taut along its upper leading edge and over a great deal of the area downwardly from the leading edge as this area controls to a great extent the pointed out, other objects, uses and advantages-will be-.-

come more apparent as the nature of the invention is more fully disclosed, which consists in its novel construction, combination and arrangement of its several parts as shown in the preferredernbodiments in the accompanying drawings and described in the specifications to follow and particularly pointed out in the appended claims in which:

FIGURE 1 is a view in elevation of the kite'partly broken away to show the junction of the frame members may be'of'a continuous length around the kite, or they adjacent its top and a position ofthe verticalfr'ame mem-.

her adjacent the bottom of the kite.

, ,FIGURE 2 is a plan view of the top edge of the kite illustrating the concaved surface of the-kite presented to FIGURE 3 is a plan view similar" to FIGURE 2 in.

which the outer, end of the frame members are moved rearwardly from the direction of. the wind giving the surface of the kite presented to the wind' it convexed form.

FIGURE 4 is a side view in elevation of the kite when set-up as shown in FIGURE 2, and illustrating the position of the kite stay cords attached to the kite.

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary schematic front view in elevation similar to FIGURE 1, illustrating further the stay cords attached to the kite.

FIGURE 6 is a section taken along line 66 of FIG- URE 1.

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical View showing in detail the connection between the frame members.

As disclosed in the accompanying drawing the invention comprises a cover for the kite in the form of a sheet of porous cloth material C, such as that used in parachuting heavy packages from airplanes. This material is woven from tough threads or strands of fibers running in two directions and at right angles to each other such as that generally employed in weaving cloth. The cloth being porous will allow a certain proportion of the air striking the sheet to pass directly through the sheet and reduce the amount of air to spill about the edges. The cloth is cut in two pieces 1 and 1' and on the bias,

"ice

the lines 2 representing the threads in the'material itself. The bias edges of these two pieces 1- and 1' .are then sewed together as shown at 4. This will provide the kite with a cover with a limited amount of stretch both horizontally and vertically.

On the outer lateral end and at the bottom of the sheet and at a point inwardly from the extreme top of the sheet, are small pockets 6, 7, 8 and 9 for receiving the outer ends of the frame members 10, 12 and 14. The vertical frame member 10 extends from the pocket 8 to the pocket 9 and is of such length as to slightly stretch the sheet vertically. The frame member 12 extends from its junction at 13 with the vertical member 10 to the pocket 6. The frame member 14 extends from its junction at 13 with the vertical member 10 to the pocket 7. The inner ends of the members 12 and 14 are so connected with the vertical and central frame member 10 as to allow them a limited amount of free pivot motion as illustrated in FIG- URES 2, 3, and 7. Extending from the pockets 6 and 7 and connected with the upper pocket 9 are cords 16 and 16' for supporting the upper, or forward edge of the kite cover. Also extendingfrom the .pocket 8 at the lower edge of-the cover are cords 17 and 17' for holding the cover taut outwardly and downwardly from the cord 16. The cords 17 and 17 do not extend along the lower .edge of the cover as do the cords 16 and 16' but are fastened to the lower edge of the outwardly extended portion of the cover as shown at 15 and 15'.which leaves a portion of the cover'l and 1"" unsupported and allows these portions to be freely moved by,the breeze which simulates to a degree the fluttering of a birds wings. The stretching o'f'theeover along this line will cause a ripple 19 and -19' which definitely separates the tautly .stretched section from the unsupported sections. The cords- 17 and 17' stretch the material .in a straight line from the points 15. and 15' to the outer lateral ends of the cover and in doing so, hold the .cover taut against the cords 16 and-16.- However, the cordsf17 and 17' hold the remaining section .of the cover downwardly and taut against the cord 16. The cords 16, 16',.17 and 17 may be of separate pieces, such as, individual lengths between the respective pockets and from the lower pocket 8 to the lower edge of the outer portions of the cover. I

' The frame may be constructed of any suitable material, such as bamboo, paper or the like. For economy and for the present time there is shown a frame'constructed of paper tubingof a size to giv'ethe frame lightness and strength and at the same time provide an of the mechanical structure for the frame. The vertical frame member 10 is provided with a pin 20 which extends through the member and protruding on both sides thereof. This pin is held in position by clamps, nuts, or any conventional type of holding means to hold the pin in position. The purpose of the pin is to receive the inner ends of lateral frame members 12 and 14. The inner ends of these lateral frame members are purovided with grommets 21 and 22, which will keep the pin 20 centrally located within the tube opening. Each grommet is provided with extended sleeves 21 and 22' extending within the end of the tubular frame members 12 and 14 which will allow the same motion to each of the two lateral frame members. The outer ends of the lateral frame members are insertable into pockets 6 and 7, as illustrated at 6 shown in FIGURE 5. The central, or vertical frame member 10 is normally incorporated into the kite at the time of manufacture and only the lateral members '12 and 14 are removed allowing the lateral frame member and the cover to be rolled into a handy elongated package for easy handling.

Extending above the main sheet portion C of the cover,

is a small sheet portion C. This portion is not cut on the bias, but is cut on the thread as illustrated by the lines 23, and is sewed tothe principle sheet C by the "stitches 24. This 'porion C is not supported by the kite frame and is used to simulate the head of a bird, its front end being used to attach one end of a vertical stay cord 26 for the kite. There is also a lateral stay cord 27 attached to the upper edge of the cover at each side of the center portion, as shown at 27' and 27". The center of the stay cord is tied adjacent its center to the stay cord 26 at a point where the kite cord 30 'is attached. The stay cord 27 is provided with suflicient slack to allow the outer lateral ends of the kite to have a limited amount of freedom to move back to allow some of the air to spill out when the kite is hit by an exceptionally heavy gust of wind. 7 Under normal flying conditions the kite cover is held by its tautness in a concaved position. In flying the kite, the kite cord 30 is fastened to the vertical kite stay cord 26, which is fastened adjacent the upper end of the frame member 10 and the bottom of the kite adjacent the pocket 8. The cross stay cord 27 is loosely attached to the cord 26, or the kite cord 30'. Twenty-five or fifty feet of kite cord is let out and the kite is held into the wind and released. The kite will move upwardly and will have the appearance of a large bird in flight. And in view of its particular structure will fly steady and present certain motions "as previously described to make the kite look more like a bird. The backward motion of the outer ends ofthe kite when the kite is under strong gusts of wind acts to spill out air and prevents the kite from diving.

I claim: 7 I

A knock-down kite comprising:

( a) a frame including:

'(1) a straight fore-and-aft central member;

(2) two straight lateral members extending at right angles from opposite sides of the central member at a point spaced from both ends thereof; and p v (3) pivot means connecting the inner ends of the lateral members to the central member to permit limited angular movement of the lateral members in a plane generally perpendicular to the central member;

(b) a fabric cover including:

"(1) two wing pieces of generally triangular eontour, each having a straight central ed'ge extending along said central member, a leading edge extending along a straight line connecting the front end of the central frame member and the outer end of one lateral member, said straight line making an acute angle with said central edge, and a trailing edge extending generally between said outer end of the one lateral member and the rear end of the central frame member; M v

(2) each wing piece being of woven fabric having two sets of threads crossing each other at right angles, with one set of threads parallel to the leading edge so that the central edge is cut on the bias;

(3) a seam connecting the central edges of the wing pieces along the central member; and

(4) four pocket means in the cover for repectively receiving the front and rear ends of the central frame member and the outer ends of the lateral members;

(c) a pair of cords for supporting the leading edges of the cover, each said cord extending under tension from the pocket means receiving the front end of the central frame member to one of the pocket means for receiving the outer end of a lateral member, each said cord being attached to the adjacent leading edge of the cover for a substantial portion of the length thereof;

(d) a second pair of cords extending under tension between the pocket means receiving the rear end of the central frame member and points on the trailing edges of the wing pieces intermediate the ends thereof; I

(e)a fore-and-aft slack stay cord connected between the pocket means receiving the rear end of the central frame member and the coveradjacent the pocket means receiving the front end 'of the central frame member, on the side of the cover opposite the frame members;

(I) a lateral slack stay cord connected between two points on the leading edges of the two wing pieces located inwardly of the outer ends of the lateral frame members and on the side of the cover opposite the frame member; 7

(g) a connection between central points on said slack stay cords; and

(h) {a towline connected to said connection.

References Cited in the 'file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

